John Carter: Super Bowl commercial will show off the scale of this Andrew Stanton epic

HollywoodNews.com: Ignoring the Disney Channel-esque voice-over (this may very well be intended to air during Shake It Up commercial breaks), the biggest problem in this 61-second preview is the seemingly awful performance from lead Taylor Kitsch. The American trailer barely lets him speak at all, and getting to hear him toss off a few lines more complicated than ‘Ugh’ makes me realize why. Again, it’s just a 61-second teaser that spends most of the time introducing the heroic supporting characters (the wise mentor/sidekick, the princess/love interest, and the comic relief pet), but his few moments of actual vocal inflection leave quite a bit to be desired. Frankly, it sounds like there is something wrong with his voice, as if someone (be it Kitsch or voice-modulators) is trying to make the strapping hero’s pitch sound lower than he actually is. Of course, a bad vocal performance isn’t entirely fatal if said actor is expressive enough to somewhat compensate (Hayden Christensen’s highly expressive face somewhat compensated for wooden vocal delivery in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), but having neither positive traits can be quite fatal (think Garrett Hedlund in Tron: Legacy). I’m assuming that this Sunday’s Super Bowl commercial will show off the scale of this Andrew Stanton epic, so here’s hoping that the film actually looks like it cost $300 million.

About Scott Mendelson

Mendelson's Memos: The basics - 30 years old, married with one child, currently residing in Woodland Hills, CA. I am simply a longtime film critic and pundit of sorts, especially in the realm of box office. The main content will be film reviews, trailer reviews, essays, and box office analysis and comparison. I also syndicate myself at The Huffington Post and Open Salon. I will update as often as my schedule allows. Yes, I'm on Facebook/Twitter/LinkIn, so feel free to find me there. All comments are appreciated, just be civil and try to keep a level discourse, as I will make every effort to do the same. Read more at Mendelson's Memos:

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Another 60 seconds spent on YouTube could’ve show you that Taylor Kitsch’s voice really does sound like that all the time, and that he’s probably one of the most expressive actors of his generation. But, hey, why fact-check, when there’s unnecessary fanboy snark to get out of one’s system?